When waste, fraud, and abuse in government is exposed, the first response is often that we need more oversight. For instance, when it came to light that millions in farm subsidies were paid to dead farmers, many in Washington, including the Government Accountability Office, blamed the problem on poor oversight.

But too often, the problem with these waste-ridden programs isn’t that they lack a watchful steward; it’s that they shouldn’t exist in the first place. Lawmakers in Congress have been captured by private interests and will continue to support programs even in the face of clear evidence that they shouldn’t. The latest Republican vote on the farm bill is a good example.